Donek Proteus Workshop7

Donek Proteus Workshop7

Stance width: 20.5"
TD3 Standard
Front foot: 6* toe lift set in line with binding at 58*
Back foot: 6* heel lift set in line with binding at 54*
Blue elastomers
I'm still 6 feet tall but my weight is now 195
The board is a stock dimension 180 Proteus

I have been on the MK all season with two exceptions – anytime I spent on soft boots (which wasn't much) and one day last week on my FC2 with PSR. I have not been on my Proteus since last season. This past Monday I went to my local hill and took only the Proteus. It was a perfect day – four days after a storm that dropped 16", 25 degrees when I arrived, firmly packed powder that had been groomed the night before and no one on the mountain.

I took one run on a blue to warm up the legs and get a feel for the board again. I then took to my favorite black trail. It took me some time on this trail to dial in my technique. After so much time on the MK this year it was refreshing to be on a board that gave me the time in each turn to control rather than react. It took 3-4 runs but once I had adjusted my technique to the Proteus I found myself whooping out loud at the bottom of the steeps. I had forgotten how smooth, stable and predictable this deck is. I was dragging my hips on both toeside and heelside turns. Again, after getting used to the MK, being on the Proteus was like sitting in a comfortable easy chair while in the middle of the turns. My speed was high but it didn't feel that way. Everything slows down and you feel that you have forever to move and adjust your body for the most efficient carve.

I am sure that there were many factors involved in this day's success. Consistent snow and groom and time spent with a great coach less than a week before were a few of them. However, I truly believe that the Donek 180 Proteus was the most significant variable involved with the turns I made on Monday. I have never, not in my 27 years on hardboots, had that many runs in a row in which I made consecutive turns that I would consider near perfect. It was one of those days in which I felt like an outside observer, watching someone else rip up the trail.